Through a Darker Mirror
by Veni Vidi Vichi
Summary: In a twist of fate, Elena and her friends were born a thousand years ago and became the Original Vampires. The Mikaelsons are a close-knit family living in Mystic Falls, dealing with their own supernatural issues. When the Originals arrive in town, everything quickly falls apart. AU


Thanks for giving my story a shot! It's a oneshot for now, but if I get enough of a response for the story I have an idea of what direction I want to take it in. Basically, this story came about because I've seen and read plenty of time travel fics or ones where one of the main Vampire Diaries characters is an Original, but I haven't seen one (at least for Klaus and Caroline) where all of the main characters are Originals. I hope you find something here a little different than what you've seen before!

* * *

Caroline shook her head and looked down at the town they were standing above.

"I never thought we'd see this place again," Elena commented lightly from beside her. "Did you?"

"Only in my nightmares."

* * *

Klaus lounged on the sofa, sketching aimlessly in his notebook as he strove to ignore his cravings for as long as possible. It had been just over a month since he had become a vampire, and he liked to perform little tests of endurance like this to show himself and his siblings just how strong he really was. He found he could lose himself in his artwork and forget his cravings for blood just as he once forgot his need to eat and drink. It wasn't always this easy, but he was managing better than any of them expected.

"Ah, Klaus, there you are."

Turning his head from his drawing Klaus found Elijah at the door to the room, leaning against the doorway in one of his many dark suits. How long ago had it been since he'd seen his brother in anything else?

"Something wrong brother?" Kol asked from a chair by the window, closing the tome he'd been reading and setting it down beside him. "I know you've been worried these past few days—rumors about someone else coming to try and manipulate us into doing their bidding?"

"I am afraid so."

"Who is it this time?" Klaus forced his voice to be level, just a little bored. His emotions were still hard to control and he was frustrated with that more than anything else since his change. The slightest of worries sent his mind whirring with anxiety. A spot of temper was a boiling rage. Nothing could be done in halves—but Klaus was determined to stay in control of himself. He owed it to his siblings. He wouldn't betray their trust in magicking a ring to allow him to walk in the daylight by becoming nothing more than an animal. "A coven seeking greater power? Werewolves trying to break their curse? Vampires?"

"Vampires," Elijah confirmed, a frown settling across his face. "But somehow worse than that. They call themselves the Original Vampires. Our contacts in England say they've been nosing around there, trying to find out where Kol and Rebekah are living. They have not met with mother, but—"

"She would have nothing to do with them," his voice was bitter and he couldn't bring himself to care. "Esther hates vampires. Finds their lack of balance with nature quite disturbing and all that."

"The Original Vampires?" Kol questioned, standing and making his way to one of the bookshelves lining the walls. His eyes narrowed as he considered their collection of grimoires and other magical books. His movement had carried him closer to Elijah, and Klaus was struck by the physical resemblance between them when they were nothing alike in personality. Both of them had the dark hair that had cropped up in their line despite their parent's blonde hair. "I am almost certain I have read something of them."

"Likely nothing good. They seem to fancy themselves the royalty of all vampires. No one would tell me much about them. Those who had met them were too frightened to say much of them and from everyone else I just found rumors of massacres of people who did not do as they wished."

"Won't be the first time we've faced off with people who thought quite a bit of themselves," Kol said, yawning playfully, though he continued to pull books of the bookshelf. For all he portrayed himself as an irresponsible troublemaker, he was as fiercely devoted to his family as the rest of them. "Piece of cake."

Klaus rolled his eyes at that, knowing it could only bring one sort of reaction out of Elijah. He was protective of his younger siblings—almost to a fault, but it was Elijah who worried away his nights making plans and balancing checkbooks. Elijah who attended parent teacher conferences and PTA meetings religiously. Elijah who had decided to move to Mystic Falls Virginia when it became obvious England was no longer safe for them.

"Kol," Elijah reproached, sitting himself next to Klaus. "This is serious. The last time they gathered somewhere to go to war they killed an entire coven of witches. You and Rebekah are strong, but you are certainly not invincible."

That spurred Klaus to sit up sharply, pulling out his phone and letting his finger hover over her speed dial.

"Have you mentioned the danger to Bekah yet? She's normally home from cheerleading practice by now."

"If she needs a ride," Kol began, turning his back to the books he'd been selecting, "I would love to go pick her up."

"Might I remind you Kol," Elijah said stiffly, "that you graduated last year and as such those girls are jailbait? I hardly want to represent my own brother in court."v

"Oh yes, because I'd have a divorce lawyer represent me."

Klaus waved for his brother's silence and switched his phone to speaker as he waited for his sister to answer.

"You've reached Rebekah. If this is for one of my committees, press 1. If it's for cheerleading, press 2. If this is one of my bloody brothers interfering with my life again press 3 and don't expect me to ever return your call."

"Guess she still hasn't gotten over us giving that last lad a talking to," Kol laughed.

"He wasn't worth her time," Elijah noted. "No moral character that one."

Klaus ignored them and began to leave his own message just as the doorbell rang. He raised his eyebrows at his brothers before rushing downstairs. He stopped his vampire speed just before he would come in sight of whoever was outside and then opened the door quickly.

"Hey Nik, hope you're up to some company."

* * *

"You might want to fetch Elijah and Kol as well."

Elijah growled as he heard Rebekah's voice echo through their large entranceway. Kol ran to the banister and simply slid down it with no thought for decorum and Elijah cursed Klaus' speed. If Rebekah was ringing the door to her own home then something was seriously wrong.

"Ah, Bekah," Kol said cheerily and Elijah could see him lean against the doorway opposite Klaus. "Who is it you've brought to our home?"

"I'll wait until Elijah's here before I do the proper introductions I think. I assume that's him I'm hearing on the stairs?"

Rebekah's tone was the same she would use when confronted with authority figures, lofty and detached. Her British accent was exceptionally strong in such moments. That she was using it now unnerved him, though Ellijah kept his face impassive as he reached the entranceway. He was surprised to find Rebekah standing next to a slender girl about her own age. The girl's straight brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and she had a brown messenger bag thrown over one shoulder. She was even smiling at them all, as if she was just a friend Rebekah had brought home. Hardly the nightmare he was expecting, though recent years had taught him plenty of horrors came in pretty packaging.

"My dear brothers," Rebekah began," I would like to introduce you to one of the Original Vampires, Elena Gilbert. My new classmate. She was very insistent that I allow you to meet with her today."

There was silence as the three of them nodded, and instead of reaching across the doorway to shake their hands Elena simply waved hers. She grinned as she looked towards Rebekah.

"That reminds me, I should probably make that call now. I apologize for being rude, but I really shouldn't wait."

She pulled a phone out of the bag at her side and dialed.

"Caroline, Rebekah has been a dear and I think it would be alright if you let April go home now. Make sure she knows what a great job she did at practice today."

Elijah's eyes flew to Rebekah's at the mention of her best friend and her willingness to bring Elena here made sense now. The sigh that left Rebekah's body showed how seriously she'd taken the threat.

"Now that that's done, mind if I try and guess which of your brothers is which?"

"To be fair, I've already given up Elijah's identity, so it won't be hard. If you really feel the need to play with us, I suppose you can do as you wish."

"I'd hate to have done all this research for nothing," Elena shrugged before turning a suddenly intense stare on both of Elijah's brothers in turn. "You would be Kol, the reckless witch who has inherited more than his fair share of the family's magic. Some would even go so far as to call you a prodigy. And you are Klaus, the artist, the sensitive one." Her eyes narrowed. "The young vampire."

Elijah felt the hairs bristle on the back of his neck as she turned her gaze on him.

"And you're Elijah, the lawyer who took his siblings and returned to the place of their birth. The only regular human left in the bunch."

"I see you've done your research," Elijah said levelly. "I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage."

"Not for lack of trying, I'm sure."

Elijah felt the corner of his mouth twitch against his will as she let out a tinkling laugh. For all the power she supposedly wielded he could never have picked her out from Rebekah's class as being anything more than an innocent looking girl.

"Please excuse our rudeness for not inviting you in," Elijah said, "But we have learned to be cautious with such invitations."

"I understand. I have a proposition for you though, and I hoped we might all speak outside your home to put us on more even ground."

Elijah shared a glance with Klaus before leading his brothers out the door to stand with Rebekah. They certainly couldn't leave Rebekah as the vampire's bargaining chip—if indeed that was what she was.

"Yes, I'm interested as to what was so important that you needed to escort me home from cheerleading practice," Rebekah hissed angrily. Elijah was alarmed at her outburst, but Elena's smile didn't falter.

"First, I should explain that I have come at the request of the other Originals. There are four of us, but Damon can't bring himself to make deals that don't include hideous threats, Caroline simply does not have the patience unless lives are immediately in danger, and Stefan has a very unreliable reputation. So it falls to me. Second, you should know the penalty for betraying any deal you make with us is death."

"So why would we want to make a deal with you?" Kol asked, crossing his arms and frowning at her.

"Because it's the only way to keep your brother alive," she cast at him, glancing at Klaus before turning her attention back to Elijah. "We need your cooperation to combat a bit of a problem we're having."

"Why do you need us?"

"Admittedly, we don't really need the two of you," Elena said, waving her hand between Klaus and Elijah. "Kol and Rebekah have the magic we need, but from what we heard about you, you come as a package deal."

"It's true," Klaus drawled, and Elijah noticed he'd moved to stand between Rebekah and Elena. "Always and Forever."

Elena slowly bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment of the statement, and Elijah had the strange impression she approved.

"What kind of problem do you need our assistance with? All the stories speak of the Originals as being invincible."

"And for the most part that is true," Elena said, her lips flattening. "There is one, however, whose immortal mission is to see us dead. He seems to think his chances of doing so are greater at the moment, and so we need a little additional assistance. As for why you should help, if we, the Original Vampires, die, all the vampires die. If you want your Always and Forever with your brother, you can clearly see why it would be in your best interest to keep us alive. Do I have your attention now?"

"And, other than Niklaus' life, what is the benefit in us doing your will?" Elijah asked cautiously. To save his brother he would do anything, but it was key not to seem overly eager. Ask for more than you need, get some of what you want. He explained that principle to his clients all the time.

"Our permanent protection," Elena offered immediately. "And a visit to your father that ensures he stays farther away from you then any restraining order could require. We could even send him to Siberia if you'd like."

"What exactly would you need Kol and Rebekah to do? How long do we have to decide if we want to work with you?"

"Well, we're planning on sticking around," Elena said, her voice shifting from the serious tone she'd been using. Instantly she sounded less like a vampire with centuries under her belt and instead like a harmless student. "We could have dinner on Friday, so you have time to research us more and we can share the full details then. We'd want an answer after that of course. We just thought it would be important to introduce ourselves and the deal beforehand."

Her face turned sheepish as she turned towards Rebekah. "I really am sorry about Caroline at practice today. She's a bit of a control freak."

Elijah was no longer surprised at Rebekah's imprudence in her dealings with Elena. She did tend to be a bit protective of her position on the squad. Between that and whatever threat they'd made towards April, she was hardly thinking rationally.

"I'm captain," Rebekah bit out, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I don't care how old she is or how much experience she's had."

"I agree. I'll talk to Caroline and get her to back off. We like being involved, so we won't be giving up joining, but she'll stop challenging you. Hopefully by Friday you'll be able to sit through dinner without wanting to give her an aneurism."

"Doubt it," Elijah heard Rebekah mutter and he took a deep breath to prevent himself from scolding her while Elena was still on the porch with them. Her telltale whine of "Nik" meant that Klaus had pinched her to remind her of her manners. It would have to do for now.

"And where would you like to have this dinner Elena?" Elijah asked quickly, feeling Kol's growing impatience from behind him.

"We would host of course," she offered, spreading out her hands palms up. "It's the polite thing to do after all. We live in the Old Salvatore place. Be there around five and I promise a meal fit for humans and not just vampires."

"We'll have made our decision by then," Elijah promised, ignoring the latter end of what she'd said, especially because the smile on her face seemed to be trying to goad him into making an issue of it. "It's been lovely meeting you."

Elena chuckled and that and extended her hand out to shake his. He didn't know why he had expected it to be rough, but after hearing tales of the Originals ripping out hearts and snapping necks he expected something different than the soft skin that slid away as she left their porch.

"We'll see you Friday."

* * *

Caroline hadn't expected Mystic Falls to have gained much to garner her appreciation since her and her friends and last left. Not even twenty four hours here and it was already beginning to prove her wrong. Despite her worry over the Mikaelson's deal, she was quickly growing fond of the table she'd claimed for herself in the Mystic Grill. There were some negatives to pretending to be just another high school student, but this town cleared up one of them by being extremely lax about underage drinking. Seriously, they even had one of the football players as a server. A quick twenty to Matt and he was keeping her well supplied. No one had commented on it so far and she was relieved to not have to use her compulsion. Being eternally seventeen had serious drawbacks.

And apparently one of those drawbacks was attracting all of the local creepers. She could feel a stare from across the bar and it made her shoulders itch. Caroline debated getting up and dealing with it or simply pretending he didn't exist. All she wanted was a nice drink to help her forget the little meeting Elena had set up for the next day. She'd had to spend all week planning menus and debating the pros and cons of her different ideas. Were any of them allergic to eggs? Gluten intolerant? And Elena had been no help at all, reminding Caroline that she had a resource in Rebekah whenever she tried to complain. As if she'd be asking the queen bee anything she didn't have to.

Caroline knew Elena was trying her best to make everything hunky dory for everyone, trying to find the perfect balance. That meant Caroline had to follow Rebekah's tune with cheerleading, the committees she'd joined, everything. It was driving her crazy, but if anyone could get them through this without spilling unnecessary blood it would be Elena. It was Caroline's job to make sure the blood spilt was not Elena's. With that thought in mind she poked her hamburger (people might get suspicious if she drank on an empty stomach and came out none the worse) moodily with a fry.

The sound of bells jingling made her look towards the door. Two men came in, chatting with each other as a redheaded teenager slipped in after them and made her way towards the billiards tables. The men headed for the bar, and Caroline slumped a little in her seat, hoping they wouldn't notice her. She came here to relax and forget her problems, not deal with them.

"Klaus, you see who that is?" She heard the darker one ask the blonde. Yup, definitely the Mikaelsons. Niklaus had been picking up Rebekah every day after school, shooting her and Elena suspicious glances. Seriously, they hadn't even done anything yet.

"One of our new Original Overlords?" Came the sarcastic reply and Caroline let out a snort. "Who I do believe is listening in on our conversation."

When they looked over her way Caroline raised her glass towards them, feeling annoyed as Klaus headed her way, sitting down at her table as if he belonged there.

"Hello love."

"So you recognize me then?"

"Given that Rebecca has been quite vocal in her complaints about you, yes," Klaus replied, his eyes narrowing slightly at her drink. "Did you use compulsion on that boy who works here?"

She scoffed at his tone. Was this baby vampire really challenging her?

"Greasing a wheel is just as easy, not that you have any right to get judgy Mr. Newborn," Caroline replied shortly before taking a bite of her hamburger. "Now that you've ensured Matt is safe, will you please leave me alone?"

"I think I would prefer to get some answers from you first," Klaus insisted, sitting forward with a scowl, the movement freeing his necklaces from his shirt. One of them was a carefully carved bird and it caught her attention for a moment before he continued speaking. "I don't like you using me as bait for your plans. You should know that those who have used me in the past haven't gotten what they wanted and most of them ended up the worse for it."

Caroline was prepared to answer his threat appropriately when she saw Matt headed towards their table. He looked concerned, his hands flexing at his sides. She forced her lips into her brightest cheerleader smile.

"You alright Caroline?" He asked, glancing at Klaus from the corner of his eyes. "Mr. Mikaelson isn't bothering you is he?"

"Thanks for checking on me Matt," Caroline reassured him, smiling honestly. "No, Mr. Mikaelson couldn't bother me if he tried."

A grin spread across Klaus' face and she quickly caught the other meaning behind her words.

Matt looked concerned, but he didn't say anything.

"Really Mr. Donovan, I promise, Caroline's safe with me."

Evidently Matt disliked the sarcasm from Klaus as much as Caroline did. She had a feeling he wouldn't have walked away at all if the bartender hadn't called for him. The bartender pointed towards the corner, where Caroline could see the creeper from earlier clearly checking out the redhead, who was laughing with some friends. Klaus cleared his throat to draw her attention back to himself.

"What did you do to get on Matt's bad side?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him. "He seems like a pretty good judge of character."

"Now Caroline," Klaus said, tipping his head towards her, "You're the one on character trial here, not me."

"Give and take Mr. Mikaelson, give and take. You want promises out of me without giving me anything in return? That's not how I've spent my last thousand years working. If you'd done your research, you'd know that."

Klaus leaned back in his seat, his eyes observing her. Finally he shrugged and began to speak.

"Fine. Matt and I had a discussion not long ago about Rebekah and how if he breaks her heart my brothers and I will break his legs. Let's just say he didn't take it well."

"And you don't think that's a little on the extreme side, even for a protective brother?"

"You haven't met Rebekah's other boyfriends."

"I do know that no girl wants other people trying to make decisions for her. That hasn't changed with age."

"Rebekah was fourteen, new to Mystic Falls. He was a senior. He did more than break her heart and it's our fault we let that happen. We should have stopped it the moment we found out about them, but I did what you suggest, I let her choose. All the pain she went through- I put that on me."

There was a tightness to his voice that Caroline recognized. She knew the weight of vampiric enhanced emotions. It had taken over a hundred years for Elena's voice to lose the tone.

"With the voice of experience," she said, unable to keep her mouth from running, "If you make yourself responsible for how everyone else feels, you will be miserable. People make their own choices."

"I did my part Caroline," Klaus interrupted abruptly. "Now I want to know why you and your friends need my sibling's magic. Why try to convince us to join your little squabble when you have a thousand years' worth of acquaintances to call upon? I know you must have other witches on retainer."

Caroline bit her lip, tossing her head in frustration. They'd agreed to hold out until the other's had arrived so they could tell the story together. No point in repeating it a thousand times.

"You're going to find out all about that tomorrow night, why do you need to know it now?"

"Because they're mine to protect," he hissed, narrowing her eyes at her. "Tit for tat Caroline."

"Your siblings are the only ones with the power to do what we need done," Caroline admitted slowly. "None of the other witches will do. How did your witchy relatives feel when you turned?"

He smirked and held up his hand so that she could see a ring.

"They trusted me enough to let me walk in the light, so I consider it a success. What is it that you need Kol and Rebekah to do?"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the redhead from earlier leave the Grill, chatting happily on the phone. What concerned her was the creeper from before who was following her. A glance told her the bartender and Matt were distracted, and she rose from her seat.

"Going somewhere love?" Klaus questioned, looking up at her with frustration.

"Listen, Klaus, you're charming and it's clear you love your siblings, but right now I have something I need to do. Give me ten minutes and I'll come back so you can threaten me all you want."

She made her way out of the restaurant and followed the sounds of a slight scuffle down the alleyway. When she rounded the corner she saw the man, his hand on the girl's shoulder pushing her against the brick wall even as she protested. In seconds Caroline was at his side, pushing him off her.

"Leave her alone," Caroline growled before turning to the girl. "Go inside, call the cops."

The girl stumbled away, nodding frantically. By now the man had gathered up his courage and was glaring at her. She could tell he was drunk from the red of his face and the way he was listing to one side.

"Come to replace little Laurie for me?"

"No, I'm here to make sure you leave her alone you absolute creeper. If you go near her again—"

"Ooh, tell me, what will blondie do if I don't leave her alone?"

He had his face completely in her space now and he was pressing his height "advantage," obviously forgetting she'd sent the girl in to call the police. She could take care of him easily, but it wouldn't due to have everyone in the town think she was some kind of super strong woman. And she didn't want to compel everyone in the restaurant over something like this. She could delay him until the police came, that wouldn't take too much. In an instant another man's hand grasped the man's shoulder and pushed him to a crouched position before her.

"Charlie," the newcomer hissed, "think it's about time you head home."

Caroline watched as the creep's face paled and he raised his arms up in surrender.

"Don't want no trouble Klaus," he said pleadingly. "Didn't figure you'd mind seeing as this blonde isn't your sister."

Klaus released the man, who stood and backed away quickly. Caroline let her disgust fill her face as Charlie gave her another once over. Her view was blocked as Klaus stepped in front of her, his arms crossed. Caroline almost laughed at the idea he was trying to protect her.

"I don't care who it is, if I see you bothering any high school girl ever again Charlie, my brothers and I will pay you a visit."

The man went to move away, but Klaus grabbed him and twisted his arm behind his back. The bartender came out with the redhead following, and offered to take over until the police came.

"You didn't need to do that. I could have handled him on my own," Caroline said as they made their way back inside. "Was handling him on my own in fact."

"Yes love, but I figured that even though the Original Vampire could handle one human man my reputation would suffer if I let a man like him harass a teenager. Though you could have just compelled him. Why didn't you?"

"I'm going to take that as your next question," Caroline sassed. "Choice, it's important. I won't take someone's choice away from them if I don't have to, which is why we are trying to convince you to work with us, not force you."

Her phone began to vibrate and she looked at the caller id as they walked towards where Kol was sitting at the bar, nursing a beer.

"Sorry, I have to take this. Now, you can wait around until I'm done or you can trust me to tell the whole truth tomorrow, alright?"

Klaus looked her up and down, and to her surprise simply nodded.

"Alright love, I'm looking forward to getting my answers tomorrow then."

Smiling, Caroline snapped her phone open and walked away, aware of their eyes on her.

"Stefan, Lexi, where are you at? I thought you weren't coming in until tomorrow!"

Even with Lexi chatting away happily in her ear, Caroline could still hear Kol calling out Klaus,

"Dude, you were supposed to get information from her, not flirt with her. What were you thinking?!"

* * *

"T-minus thirty minutes before the guests descend," Elena chirped cheerily, watching as Caroline grew even more frazzled.

"Elena, I love you, but since this whole dinner is your fault you should really leave me alone to master it. You made them think they were getting a homemade meal, but I'm the one slaving away in the kitchen all day."

"You mean Susan's been slaving away in the kitchen all day," Lexi suggested, taking a platter from Caroline before moving to the dining room.

"I made the pies," Caroline protested, but she stuck her tongue out at the two of them and Elena was relieved that she wasn't as stressed out as she appeared.

"We should have Susan go out tonight," Stefan said, shaking his head as he entered the room. "I know you girls want to trust the Mikaelson's, but perhaps we shouldn't show our soft underbelly before we know for sure they will be working with us."

"I don't think they're the type to go after an innocent," Elena argued softly. "From what Caroline and I have learned, they've been targets too many times to want to do that. Elijah seems to be the noble type."

Stefan shook his head.

"Not everyone reacts to that like you do Elena."

"I'll have her go out to Whitmore for the night then," Elena announced, moving past Caroline into the kitchen. Susan was wiping down the counter serenely, her silver hair tied back in a low ponytail. She looked up and smiled as Elena came in.

"Stefan convince you to send me out for the night sweetling?"

"I'm afraid so Susan. Think you can handle a night away from taking care of us youngsters?"

Susan chuckled and untied the apron from around her waist.

"I don't think I will ever get used to you treating me like an old woman, I can remember you holding me on your lap as a child."

"Just wait until you have to come in for parent teacher conferences," Elena teased, thinking of that day some sixty years ago. "When you have to play a kindly guardian to your sister's grandchildren."

"How did you trick me into playing that roll again?"

Elena bit her lip and looked at Susan seriously.

"If at any point you want out Susan, you just have to leave. We'll understand. You've been able to have a normal life without any supernatural complication and we're asking you to give that up."

"I haven't had much of an exciting life," she replied. "My brothers and sisters all have families of their own, but I've just got you. Tyler will have to get through me before he touches any of you."

"That's not how this works," Elena said, getting on her tiptoes to kiss Susan's forehead. "Now go out and have fun tonight. Go see those knitters of yours in Whitmore."

Susan rolled her eyes before going to say goodbye to everyone and Elena returned to arranging the house per Caroline's demands. It wasn't much longer until the doorbell began to ring. Elena and Caroline made their way to the foyer, making sure to stay at a human pace. It wouldn't do to freak the Mikaelsons out if they didn't need to. Bringing her lips up into a welcoming smile she swung open the door.

"Come in."

Elijah entered first, in a suit not too different from what he usually wore. Kol hovered in jeans and a button up at Rebekah's elbow, who had marched in like she owned the place. Elena winced as she noticed Rebekah's dress was the same shade as Caroline's. 'Please,' Elena begged of whatever higher power would listen, 'don't let them argue over clothes tonight.'

"Uh, Klaus?" Caroline questioned, moving to stand behind Elena and peer around her shoulder. "You can come in. The house is in Elena's name."

His face smoothed out and he sent a soft smile Caroline's way as he stepped in. Oh yes, that was worth interrogating Caroline about later.

"Thank you for having us in your home," Elijah said, drawing Elena's attention back to him. He had the same serene look on his face she'd yet to see him shaken of, and Elena was impressed by his lack of visible worry dealing with them.

"Of course," she replied warmly. "Come into the dining room and we'll introduce you to a couple of our friends and we can start eating while the food is hot."

Caroline had outdone herself. The table was laden with enough food that one would think it was Thanksgiving, the chandelier had been strung with strands of pearls, and the fireplace was lit despite it being early fall. If their lives were a little different, Caroline could have made a wonderful life for herself as a party planner.

"Mikaelsons, this is Stefan. He's another of the Original Vampires."

"Stefan, the Ripper?" Kol scoffed and Stefan nodded, a haunted look in his eyes. Elena ached for him. "No wonder he's still alive. You'd think after murdering entire villages someone would have figured out where to stick the stake."

"Kol, hush," Rebekah huffed, moving forward to shake Stefan's hand before her brothers did the same. "Lovely to meet you."

"Pleased to meet all of you," Stefan said, his voice the same tone Elena had become familiar with for the last few centuries. Lexi took his arm and he smiled at her. "This is Lexi, she's not an original, but she's been one of our closest friends for the last six hundred years."

"Six hundred years?" Klaus questioned, turning to Elijah and raising an eyebrow. "Fat lot of good our research did for us."

"Sit down and we'll tell you everything," Elena offered, taking her place at the head of the table. Elijah paused before she gestured to the seat to her left. Klaus sat next to his older brother, though he eyed the seat Rebekah had taken between Kol and Caroline. "Feel free to fill your plates and start eating though."

They all began to do so and Elena was just taking a sip of blood from her glass when she heard Rebekah quietly whisper to Caroline.

"I wanted to thank you for helping June out the other night."

"Who?" Caroline whispered back.

Elena could practically feel Rebekah roll her eyes.

"The redhead at the Mystic Grill, Nik said you helped her out and I owe you for it. She's more April's friend then mine, but she's still my friend."

"Well, you're welcome then."

"Now, what can you tell us about this danger you're facing?" Elijah questioned once the clinking of silverware was the dominant sound in the room.

Well, it was nice while it lasted. Elena took a deep breath and stood, waiting for everyone's eyes to be drawn to her. Elijah's gaze had snapped to hers immediately and Rebekah was last, glaring at her. Apparently her gratefulness to Caroline did not extend to her.

"We know we're asking a lot of you. We want to give you a show of our trust in return," Elena continued, her eyes going from Mikaelson to Mikaelson. "We'll tell you our story."

"Which will explain why we need your help above any other witches," Caroline added quickly, and Elena saw a smirk on Klaus' face as he and Caroline exchanged a glance. Oh yes, they would be discussing that later.

"A thousand years ago we lived here in a small Viking village. Our families were the founders of the village and were determined to make the settlement work—no matter what. There was a village of Native Americans nearby. We called them the Wolf Men."

"Werewolves," Kol guessed, tipping his chair onto its hind legs. Elijah turned towards him and his fierce look had the chair back to the ground in an instant.

"Werewolves," Elena agreed. "Every month we'd have to lock ourselves within a system of caves and we had peace—for a time. During one full moon my brother snuck out with a friend to see them change. It was. . . they killed him."

Elena paused for a moment, struggling to keep her voice under control. It had been a thousand years, yet her brother's death still tore at her.

"Our parents refused to abandon the village, they wanted to get revenge by staying. There was a witch, our friend Birna. She loved my brother—they were courting and they were so happy. She was furious and determined that none of us would ever fall to them again. She used a spell at great cost, and so were born the vampires. Us. She harnessed the sun for life, the white oak tree for immortality, and blood. But those who argued against it were right—nature itself turned against us. The village did not understand and slowly they too turned against us."

"I think it's important for you to know," Stefan intoned, "Bonnie set us on the right path. She took some blood from Elena before casting the spell and we used that blood to complete the transformation. None of us started out being Rippers, we had to spend weeks inside her house before she discovered a way to make daylight rings for all of us. By then we had realized our hunger for blood and she gathered volunteers from the village to help us. Gradually we even began to try animal blood, which worked well enough. We never drank directly from a human while she lived. The village turned against us before we had done anything to deserve it."

"My father didn't care," Caroline offered, and Elena reached under the table to squeeze her hand. "He led the group that was searching for a way to destroy us. My mother discovered their plan and warned us, so we burnt down the white oak tree and we fled."

"My parents were sympathetic, and they came with us to find our own place to settle. We were happy," Elena choked out, twisting her daylight ring. "Birna received word of a coven of witches who had come from our homeland. They had heard of what she had done and sought to learn from her. She was so happy to share her knowledge, to pass on what she thought might die with her. She went alone. She never returned. Later we learned that Caroline's father and the council that had formed to destroy us had worked with the witches to draw her out and murdered her. Then they created a being, part wolf, part immortal, to destroy us. He calls himself Tyler. He has hunted us for a thousand years."

"So why us?" Klaus asked insistently and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Bonnie was a Bennet witch, the most powerful witch line in existence, but she was the last. When she died the power had to go somewhere. It's been rumored to be in different lines over the years, it was only within the last century that we discovered that the power which flows in you is from her."

Rebekah crossed her arms moodily before speaking.

"So you must be working against a witch from my mother's line. You could use other witches, but none will be as effective as one of us."

They sat in silence for a time. Elena kept her eye on Elijah, who was absolutely still. Apparently he was just too proper to fidget like a normal person. Finally he shifted in his chair.

"Do we know the witch this Tyler has on his side?"

Elena bit her lip and glanced at Caroline, who gave her an exasperated look before she began to speak.

"It's your mother. We caught word that he was looking for witches of her line and it took some time before we realized why he would be after it. Stefan and Lexi went to England, but Tyler got there first."

Rebekah looked alarmed, though her brother's kept their poker faces. Her voice was shaking as she asked,

"Do you think he's threatened her?"

"We don't know for certain," Elena admitted. "We haven't dared to get our people close enough to find out the details of their arrangement."

"Tyler has a nose for those sort of things," Lexi said, smirking. Elena tried to frown, but a light giggle escaped, earning her a glare from Caroline.

"I'm sure she knows," Klaus ground out, his knuckles white around the fork in his hand.

"You don't know that," Rebekah argued, her blonde hair moving wildly with her rejection. "She knows what happened to you and she would never help him if she knew you would die."

There was silence for a moment after she stopped speaking. Elena reached down and brought her glass to her lips once again, wishing she'd had the forethought to add some strong alcohol to her blood, maybe some nice whiskey.

"Come now sister," Kol's bitterly playful voice breaking the silence. "Our dear mother wouldn't hesitate to put a stake through any of our hearts if we turned. Poor Nik's just first."

"Regardless of what she allowed to happen, Esther is still your mother," Elena said quickly.

"Even if she is a witch," Lexi muttered, putting a special emphasis on witch. Rebekah turned her glare towards Lexi and Stefan nudged her gently. "Sorry, I'll shut up, but I met her once and she left quite an impression."

"What I mean," Elena brought their attention back to her, "is, we understand if you have hesitations over working against your own mother."

"We can talk about that later," Elijah said and Elena saw the pointed glance he sent towards her and her friends. None of his siblings argued with that. "Voluntary or not, we can't allow mother to help Tyler's goals."

"So, you'll work with us?"

"We will."

Elena relaxed into her seat at last, while Caroline stood, a wide smile on her face. Definitely in party mode now.

"Alright, I'll go get the pie. We can talk more business after dessert."

"Let me help you love," Klaus offered, and Elena bit her lip to hide her amusement. Poor boy, he really had developed a thing for Caroline quite quickly. Before they had left the room, a bang from the entranceway sounded through the house. Everyone was tensed for an attack when Damon strode into the room, his hand gripping tightly around the arm of a blonde woman Elena had never seen before.

"Don't tell me you started the reunion without me."

* * *

So, how was it? Feel free to review and let me know. Also, if any of you would like to beta this if I end up continuing it, feel free to let me know. I have a writing group that looked this over, but none of them have ever seen Vampire Diaries, so their help is a little limited. Until next time, ~Libros


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